“Don’t be rushed, don’t be hushed” – Scam Awareness Month

July is Scam Awareness Month. Led by Citizens Advice and Trading Standards the campaign is about helping consumers stay alert and confident, and encouraging us all to be ready, willing and able to spot scams.

Each year more than three million people in the UK fall victim to scams - on their doorstep, by phone, through the post and increasingly, online. Overall reports on frauds and scams to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service are up 104 per cent from last year.

The message behind this year’s campaign is “Don’t be rushed, don’t be hushed”. People should have the confidence not to be rushed into hasty decisions by scammers, and the confidence not to be hushed into silence by a sense of shame or helplessness.

Steve McCabe MP said:

We are seeing a significant increase in reported frauds and scams and it seems that increasingly people are being targeted online. I think it’s really important thatpeople have the information they need to make informed choices and identify warning signs that may indicate something isn’t quite right. Scam Awareness Month is all about spreading the message that scams can be tackled if we take our time to spot the signs and share what we learn with others.